In 2003,  after almost losing the business I had worked hard to build because of a single incident with a Trojan, I decided I needed to learn more about these types of programs. Both my home and business PC's contain data that I cannot afford to lose, and if one small Trojan could cost me my livelihood, then I needed to protect against them. What surprised me most when I started researching was the wide range of tools available to remove Trojans, and how much those tools varied in quality.

Trojans are malicious pieces of software that appear to perform a safe action, but in fact perform a dangerous function that threatens your computer's security. Malicious trojans can be very dangerous. Trojans can erase your computer's data, corrupt files, install and spread viruses and there are many more security threats (they could steal your personal files for example). 

With so many tools out there meant to protect against Trojans, let's discuss what a Trojan remover is and is not.

First, an trojan remover is NOT a tool for restoring lost data. There are tools for meant for that purpose, but the Trojan remover is intended to protect, not restore. 

Second, NOT everyone will need an trojan remover. If the PC's you use aren't connected to a network (whether it's a home or business network or the Internet), then the likelihood of getting a Trojan is far less. 

Third, a trojan remover IS a comprehensive scanning tool meant to find, remove and protect against Trojans. Most good scanners will remove Trojans, Spyware, Adware, worms, and other types of malware. 

Fourth, if you don't take the time to choose the best Trojan Remover, then you shouldn't even bother to waste your time. A poor scanner will leave your system open, and can cause more harm than good! There are so many companies that claim to produce Trojan scanners, but there are really only a few programs that are worth the money you spend on them. 

To help you get started: Along with a few of my associates, I took the time to evaluate the five best tools on the market. We rated trojan removers based on the following criteria:

• Ease of Use - A good scanner should be so simple that you can protect with a single click. 
• Power - Simplicity should never sacrifice power, and a good Trojan remover should allow you to adjust settings if you need to.
• Trojan Horse Removal - Did the software remove all of the Trojans from the system?
• Worms - A good scanner will also remove worms that may not be Trojans. 
• Browser Hijacking - Trojan removers should protect against further infections by preventing browser hijacking. 
• Rootkits - Any type of program that is meant to take control of the PC should be removed by the scanner. 
• SpyBots  and Spyware should be eliminated by a good Trojan scanner. The Trojan remover should eliminate keyloggers, automatic dialers, and other types of malware that is intended to steal your personal information. 
• Malware - Although a Trojan scanner needn't protect against all viruses (that's what your virus scanner is for), it should remove the most common types of malware. 
• Adware - A good Trojan remover should recognize Ad serving programs, even if those programs aren't specially Trojans/Spyware
• Worked on Desktop PC's and Laptops - To ensure that the tools we're comprehensive we tested them all on two different computers.